Extraordinary Health Magazine Extraordinary Health Vol 25 | Page 38

Vitamin
D3
The Sunshine Vitamin
By Dawn Thorpe Jarvis, M.S., R.D., L.D.N. Garden of Life® Senior Director of Nutrition Science & Educational Content

Do you get enough of the sunshine vitamin?
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin and pro-hormone found in
every cell of the body and is needed for proper cell regulation.
Essential for the absorption of calcium, vitamin D is needed
for bone growth and for bone health. According to leading experts,
vitamin D receptors are found in tissues and organs throughout
the body to support the pancreas; heart; blood; muscle; bone and
bone marrow; breast; colon; intestines; kidney; lung; prostate;
retina; skin and stomach as well as uterine and brain health—
positively impacting 36 bodily organs. Vitamin D plays a role
in up to 2,000 genes and an important role in immune system
health. Low levels of vitamin D have been associated with
virtually every chronic disease, indicating the importance
of vitamin D in helping with major disease prevention,
according to scientific publications.
The truth is that vitamin D is a must-have vitamin that our bodies
need to be healthy at every level. Vitamin D comes in two forms:
vitamin D2, which is made in plants, and vitamin D3—the preferred
form—which is made when cholesterol in our skin cells reacts
with sunlight. In this form, it is biologically inactive and must
undergo two steps for activation. The first step occurs in the
liver, and the second occurs in the kidneys.
Vitamin D is naturally present in very few foods, but good
sources include fish liver oils, such as cod liver oil, and fatty
fish such as herring, salmon, mackerel, sardines and tuna.
Other sources include mushrooms, eggs, raw milk and products
made with whole raw dairy.

†

It has been reported that 75 percent of American teens
and adults are vitamin D deficient. Now that’s a problem
if only 25 percent of us are getting enough of this
health-protecting nutrient.
There are many reasons why people don’t get enough
vitamin D. Older people make less vitamin D than younger
people when exposed to sunli